The invention relates to a fastener for a container evacuator and a method, in particular for a drum evacuator for pressing silicone gum or other viscous material from a container to a continuous compounding system.
In a compounding system, a viscous material is fed to a processing line where feed is mixed and additives are injected in proportions to produce a customized product. The feed material for these processes can be delivered in various containers to the compounding site. When delivered, the material must be removed from the container for processing. For example, a compounding system can require emptying material such as silicone gum from drums or similar containers. However, the feed material may be very viscous and resistant to flow and hence, resistant to removal from the delivery container.
Some emptying processes use a plunger to drive through a container content to express the content for further processing. A considerable amount of pressure is needed in these processes to express a viscous material such as a silicone gum. The high expressing force exposes the materials container to very high mechanical stress. For reasons of weight and expense, the containers are usually designed with very thin walls and a structure that is just sufficient to avoid damage to the container during transport. The container is not designed to withstand stress imposed during the emptying operation and the high pressure developed during an emptying operation can easily burst a container structure.
Reinforcing split metal sleeves or half-shells can be placed around a container during an emptying operation. However, the mounting and closing off of the sleeves and half-shells can be very complicated operations, requiring considerable manual labor. Another disadvantage is that the sleeves or half-shells must be adapted in an exact manner to the outside container dimensions thus sometimes requiring an inventory of sleeves or half-shells to accommodate various sized containers.
Accordingly, there is a need to facilitate the removal of a viscous feed material from a container, particularly removal of a viscous feed material such a viscous silicone from a delivery container such as a drum.